1. Field of the invention
This invention relates generally to traps for capturing animals, and more particularly to a noosing trap for selectively capturing bears.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For various reasons, it is often necessary to capture animals alive For example, such capturing is required to protect agricultural crops from animal attacks as well as to ensure human safety.
Particularly, bears are known to be very dangerous. In view of this, various traps have been heretofore proposed for capturing bears.
The most typical of traps for bears, or big animals for that matter, is a trap cage. Generally, the trap cage has a door which is normally open but closes, through a trigger device associated with a bait inside the cage, in response to the movement of a bear taking the bait, as disclosed for example in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 47-770 (Published: Jan. 12, 1972, Inventor and Applicant: Takiji TANAKA).
In fact, the use of such a trap cage is increasingly prohibited possibly to prevent excessive capturing. Further, the trap cage will often capture animals other than bears, thereby failing to provide selective capturing of bears. More importantly, the trap cage is too bulky and heavy for transportation to locations deep in the mountains, so that it can be installed only at limited locations.
Another typical trap, known as a body noosing trap, utilizes a capturing wire having a noosing loop of about 50 cm in diameter. The noosing loop is suspendingly placed slightly above a walking path of bears, and adapted to diametrically reduce under tension upon passage of the bear to trap the body thereof.
The body noosing trap is disadvantageous in that the trapped bear may die if the noosing loop accidentally tightens up the bear's neck. Further, this trap provides a very poor chance of success in capturing because the bear may pass by the trap.
A further typical trap employs a footboard, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 59-34300 (Published: Sept. 22, 1984, Inventors and Applicants: Sueo WATANABE and Fukio FUKUSHIMA) or in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-42705 (Published: Nov. 2, 1987, Inventor and Applicant: Mitsuo WADA). More specifically, the footboard is pivotally arranged at a pitfall in the ground, and a noosing loop (about 40 cm in diameter) at one end of a capturing wire is placed on the footboard. The footboard is downwardly pivoted when stepped on by a bear or the like to actuate a triggering device which causes diametrical reduction of the noosing loop to arrest a foot (or hand) of the bear.
The footboard trap is also disadvantageous in that it may capture unintended animals such as Japanese serows or raccoon dogs. A more serious problem with this trap is that it is useless in snowy areas. In fact, the footboard trap becomes inoperative with a snowfall of not less than 10 cm.